Morning journal and courier., 1887-01-20
SENSATIONAL DEvE1OPmENrs.


 RevelatiOns-W. HI. Ely, of she Law
 firm of Case, Maltby and Deming. Ac-
 cused of Attempted Bribery of Wit
 nesses-E11s Deafal-Both Sides Accuse
 Each Other of Trying to BrIbe Witt
 messes-Perjury an Important Fea.
 ture-Morse's Fatherin-law Testffies
 -ReputatiOn of the MamvilIes Said to be Had.
 There were several sensations in court yesterday morning in the Morse arson case. The prosecution was to try to prove that
 agents of Morse approached the Manvilles | and attempted to bribe them in staying
 away from the trial, which was then set down for November, 1884. The State attor-
 ney had told what he intended to prove and the ones who were to be charged with this
 bribery matter and Lawyer Case for the de
 fense had withdrawn his objection to intro
 ducing such evidence, provided the whole
 thing was proven. He said if the attempt to | spirit away the witnesses can be brought
 home to the prisoner and his counsel all well and right. "But if there is single | missing link," MT. Case continued, "and if | the State attorney fails in the smallest way | to establish what he said yesterday he ex- l pected to show, then the evidence is inad- | missible. Now know that he cannot show | what he said he would, but in this way he | gets in evidence to prejudice the jury against | the accused and then says that for some l reason he isn't able to do what he
 expected to do. The State of Con
 necticut is attempting to throw mud upon the defence, counsel included, but l don't propose to have the case prejudiced l that way. now submit proposition of law ! on the subject. An attempt to spirit away witnesses suppress evidence by defendant | is strong evidence against him, because it is l ioo1o i0IoO 6T1oiSo Offv | It is evidence only when it is the prisoners
 own act and unless his personal complicity is | proved the act loses all it's force. Nothing | can be left to inference. The acts of friends ! or wife or parent, or even counsel, is not evil denee any more than the admission of 8 | friend is the prisoners admission" He quot | ed several proofs of law to sustain what he said.
 State Attorney DooIittIe stated that "every thing have said I shall prove"
 Henry Manville, who took the stand the previous afternoon, but whose testimony was not taken because of the wrangle as to | whether it was admissible, was again called. F'He offered me, " the witness said, 1.-two dol lars and half day and my expenses if I would go to Maine for couple of months. This I refused, when proposition was made within few days that should go on gun ming trip in New York State and Septemb Der g we started, going to Mahopae, N. Y. We remained there several days and my brother and wanted to come home and started We came as far as Brewsters, when Hatton said he wanted to meet some parties there. On the day in question he received dispatch directed to George Stevens, dated at Meriden, saying that they would be there,' and signed 'Will.' The next day we went to Pawling, two or three stations above Brewsters, and in the evening went to the depot to meet the parties They did not come upon the mp trai wa ted down when they came-Will Morse and MT. Ely of the firm of Case, Maltby 6 Deming. After some consultation with Hatton the latter said he would give us $500 if we would keep away until after the trial. Hatton also said that if we came into the State we should be arrested for being connected with the case. The Friday before the was set down for l trial was the day MT. MoIso and Mir. Ely | were at Pawling. They pretended they came | up to go fronting, but it rained so hard that we all staid in the house and played cards | and checkers"
 Manville swore positively that he saw Law | yer Ely in Pawling. By this testimony Lawyer Ely, of the law firm of Case, Maltby ] & Deming, was positively accused of attempt | ing to brbe the witness. The case began to grow into pretty good sensation. Bossman ] had testified befole that Ely had been to the ! jail to see him, but this was denied by ev1- dence put in by the defense. It was claimed | also that Ely tried to get Bossman to testify l for Morse.
 Charles Manville took the witness stand and corroborated the testimony of his broth er. Lawyer Case got from him most posi- l tive statement that he saw Ely in Pawling. Constable Austin testified to finding eight barrels of glassware near the depot in Wal lingford after the assignment by Morse and l his partner was made.
 At the conclusion of Austins testimony l the prosecution threw bombshell into the If fho hv hot ha State would rest. It was 8 great surprise for the defense. Lawyer Case said they had | not expected that the State would rest to- day, but he saw no other way than for the defense to open it's line of testimony. Lawyer Ely was first called and testified that he was not in Fswling upon the occa- sion stated by the ManvIlles. He was never in Pawling and never up the Harlem road but once, and that was in 1876. He was not out of the city during that week and not out of the city but twice during the month, once to attend funeral at Hartford and once to try case in Simsbury.
 Here was another surprise. MT. Ely had declared as false everything said about him by the prosecution. It showed that in this case there has been and is yet to come some of the most bare faced and ingenious perjury on record. The court room was crowded with spectators who seemed to thoroughly enjoy the contradictory statements of the witnesses.
 Insurance Agent A. W. Dean, who had testified for the State as to the amount of insurance was on the building, WAS recalled. His testimony this time was for the defence. MT. Case endeavored to show why the poli- cies written after the May fire were for a short term and also why companies refused to place risks in Wallingford. In explana- tion of the last MT. Dean, whose companies refused to insure Morse's factory, testified that it was not account of Morse, or because his factory had previously been burned, that his companies refused the risk, but he was forbidden to write any insurance on any Wallingford factory, on account of the poor fire department and other reasons, since the wheel shop had been burned down. Witness thought that the Morse factory was not over-insured. MT. Deans testimony was contested by the State almost inch by inch, and at 12:30 the court adjourned until afternoon.
 In the afternoon the defense put on num- Der of witnesses to testify to the reputation of the Manvilles. The witnesses swore their regulations were pretty bad.
 Seleotman Jones, of Wallingford ,testifedto theidentity of one of the town documents. The State seriously objected to it's being brought in as evidence. The document was the &C., count of Attorney Harrison, who had been employed to look up the case. The defense is willing to show that the amount claimed as expenses, $29.75, by MT. Harrison was used by the prosecution to hribe Bossman at the time he was visited at the jail.
 Here again was sensational development. It shows that the case Is one of the most in- tricate that has been brought to light for some length of time lately. Both the prose- cution and the defense are playing hard game. Each accuses the other of bribery or attempted bribery.
 Mrs. Steele, the mother in law of Morse, testified to the events that transpired at her house the evening of the fire. Frank and his wife were there. On the night of the fire Frank and his father-in-law got home about 6 o'clock, their usual time. After supper MT. Browman, accompanied by young lady, came in and spent the evening with them. They went away before the fire alarm was struck She swore positively that Frank did not go out of the house during the evening until the alarm struck Frank went to the fire first, followed by his father in-law. While they were gone some one came to the back door. She asked who it was and the man said he was Chas. Manville; he went into the house and had a conversation with her Said he went through the building before the fire, b,,t oR